Reproducibility assessment of ultrasound-based aortic stiffness quantification and verification using Bi-axial tensile testing

摘要

Current guidelines for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair are primarily based on the maximum diameter. Since these methods lack robustness in decision making, new image-based methods for mechanical characterization have been proposed. Recently, time-resolved 3D ultrasound (4D US) in combination with finite element analysis was shown to provide additional risk estimators such as patient-specific peak wall stresses and wall stiffness in a non-invasive way. The aim of this study is to: 1) assess the reproducibility of this US-based stiffness measurement in vitro and in vivo, and 2) verify this 4D US stiffness using the gold standard: bi-axial tensile testing of the excised aortic tissue.